Excavating-bucket.



J. MATTHEWS.

' EXCAVATING BUCKET.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT1I.I9I6.

Patented Dec. 26,1916.y

/NVE/vo Jme Mceeuu pv f f entran new 'EXcavn'rIne-nucknr.

Application filed September 11, 191.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that YI, JAMES MATTHEWS, aA citizen of the .Dominion of Canada, residing at Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Excavating-Buckets, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an excavating and conveyor bucket of that class, which is mounted on a carriage for conveyance along an aerial standing line reaching from the place of deposit over the ground to be excavated; and the improvements are directed to a means for automatically latching the bucket to the carriage in 'a horizontal or load carrying position; to a means for autoinatieallyy securing the carriage on the standing line, at any predetermined position thereon against backwardvmovement, where it may be desired to dump the load, to a I' means for automatically releasing the latch by which'the bucket is sustained to the carriage in the horizontal or load carrying position, to a means for imparting a jar or shock to the bucket when the saine is upvtilted to facilitate the delivery of its load, and lto the means whereby the uptilting of the bucket will effect-release of the carriage from the standing line and permit its return to the place of excavation. The particular means by which these several features of the invention'are carried into eliect are fully set forth in the following specilication, reference being made tothe drawings by which it is accompanied, in which:

Figure 1 is a more or less diagrammatic elevation to a reduced scale showing the relation of the bucket to the aerial standing line and to the hanljng line. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the bucket and its carriage, and Fig. 3 is an end elevation Aof the same from the front end.

In these drawings 2`represents the standing line which extends from an anchorage 3 on the farther side of the place of excavation 4 to a gin pole 5 adjacent the place of deposit. Over a sheave 6 on this pole 5 the4 line 2 passes to the donkey engine 7, with provision whereby the aerial line may be slackened to lower it to the ground level, as

shown by the full lines in'Fig, 1, or tightened to lift it therefrom, as shown by the dot and dash lines in the same gure.

The bucket 10 which is substantially rec- .stably suspended with a ,specification of Letters Patent. Patent-ed Dee, 26, 1916.

Serial No. "119,502

riage 8 which runs on sheaves 9 along the standing line 2. The axis of suspension of the bucket is below and backward from its loaded center of gravity so that it is unpreponderating weight forward of its pivot.

The front portion of the carriage 8 is projected downward to check upward movement. of the forward end of the bucket 10 beyond thehorizontal position, and pivotally mounted at 25 in the downwardly projected front end of the carriage is a hook or latch member 26, which is designed to engage and retain a bail or loop 27 secured to and extending across the front end' of the bucket. v This hook member 26 is weighted,

that it will normally, assume the latched position and its underside is angled where the bail engages it that it will automatically move to permit entrance and latching of the bail. From this hook member an arm 28`projects upward, adjacent the pivot, to the end of which arm a release rod 29 may be pin-connected at 30 to project through a trunnion mounted bearing 31 in the front end of the frame of the carriage 8 adjacent the standing line 2l where it passes through the carriage.;

The hauling line 12 is connected atll-,by a bail or bridle chain, to each side of the bucket 10 adjacent its excavating edge, and the haul-back line 15 is connected to adoupress it in, to eifect release of the hook or lo latch 26from its engagement with the bail of the bucket and permit the front end of` the bucket to fall'to deposit itsload.

Secured across the back end of the bucket is a stop 19 which, when. the bucket swings 105' free on its pivt,'will engage a corresponding stop 20 secured to the carriage and will arrest movement of the bucket vslightly before. it attains the vertical osition. The

principal object of this stop 1s to imparta 11@ ble chain bridle 16 which passes over sheaves sharp shock or check to the bucket when it is uptilted and thereby loosen its contents and permit the bucket to be more completely emptied. The adherence of the earth to the walls is an objection withexisting buckets and a considerable proportion of the load is frequently returned to the place of excavation.

To se'cure the carriage at'any desired position on the standin g line where it may be de- 1 sired to deliver tue contents of'the bucket,

a latch member 22 is pivotally mounted at 2l in the forward part of the carriage, the end of which latch 22 is designed to engage the shouldered backward edge of the member 23 by which release of the bucket is effected in the manner just described, and projecting downward from its latch member adjacent the pivot is a portion 24which projects in the path of the after end of the bucket lO as it uptilts to deposit its contents, so that as the bucket deposits its load the carriage is.

which it is desired to excavate, and thev ex.

cavating edge of the bucket is directly drawn over the ground by the hauling line 2. While the carriage 8 is moving out to the place of excavation and while the bucket is filling, the front end of it is not necessarily latched to the hook member 26 of the carriage but its excavating edge is free to adapt/ itself to the tension of the hauling line to effectively scoop the bucket full; but when the bucket is full, its after end being loaded will settle down and the tension of the hauling line inclining upward from the hollow of the excavation will lift the front end of the bucket into the latching position and the bail 27 will be automatically latched to the hook 26. When this latching is eifected the operator at the donkey will tighten his standing line 2 to lift the bucket clear of the ground and it will be drawn to the place of deposit. On reaching the place o f deposit, the release rod 29 will engage the faceof the member 23 secured on the standing line and the hook member 26 will be withdrawn from engagement with the bai 27 of the bucket, the front end of which is then free to fall to deposit the load when the tension on the hauling line'is relaxed, but although the bucket is free to empty itself the carriage 8 is still secured by the latch 22 to thc member 23 until the after end of the uptilted bucket engages the end 24 of the latch 22 and moves it forward to lift the latch and release the carriage which is then free to retur to the place of exdavation for another oa i Having now particularly described my I end of the bucket and limit its elevating.

movement, a latch device lmounted on said carriage, a bail on said bucket to engage with said latch device, an adjustable shoul der member adapted to be secured to the overhead track, a latch releasing rod connected with said latch and adapted to engage said shoulder member to release said latch and a carriage latching device for latching the carriage to said shoulder member at the time of release of said bucket latch, and holding lines connected with said bucket 'and carriage.

2. An excavator and conveyer bucket, comprising the combination adapted to travel on an overhead track," of an excavator Y'-loucket pivotally suspended fromtl'ie'* carriage, means for automatically latching the front or excavating end of the bucket to the carriage to sustain the bucket in an unstable position, and means secured on 'the overhead track for automatically effecting release of the bucket retaining means, said bucket latching means comprising a weighted latch lever pivotally mounted'on the carriage, a reciprocating latch release rod mounted on the carriageand adapted to move said latch lever to the releasing position, said latch release rod adapted to engage said release eiiecting means when the carriage is drawn into juxtaposition thereto.

3. An excavating and conveyer bucket, comprising the combination with a carriage adapted to travel on an overhead track, said carriage having relatively rigid depending arms, of an excavator bucket pivotally mounted on and between said arms to swing with a carriagtl.;

from the carriage, means for latching the front or excavating end of the bucket to the carriage, means for effecting release of -the bucket latching means, and a stop carried by and projecting between said arms, together with a stop on the rear end of the bucket, said bia/cket stop adapted to engage said arm carried stop with jarringim-v @opten of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Leccese wardly produced from its pivot to project in the path ofthe after end of the bucket when the same swings free on its pivot to the emptying position. A

5. An excavating and conveyei bucket,`

comprising the combination with a carriage adapted to move on 4an overhead track, of an excavator bucket pivotally mounted to swing from the carriage, a haulingline directly connected to the front end of the bucket and a haul-back line passing 4from the -rear end of the carriage over sheaves adjacent the front end of the same and connected tothe front end of the bucket.

6. An excavating and conveyer bucket, comprising the combination with a carriage adapted to move on an overhead track, of an excavator bucket pivotally mounted tof swing from the carriage7 of-a latch auto- 25 matically securing the front end of the bucket to the carriage when the same is lifted into engagement with the latch, and means for lifting the front end ofthe bucket into latching engagement, said means com- 30 prising a haul-back'line passing from the backend of the carriage over sheaves at the front end and connected to the front end-of the bucket. v

In testimony whereof I atx my signatureu 35 JAMES MATTHEWS.

Commissioner of Patente.

Weehingtpn, D. G. 

